Tips for Reading the FAHSA Link
Welcome to this edition of the FAHSA Link.
Please note that news topics are highlighted in a brief paragraph or
two. To read the complete document related to a specific member
type, click on the link directly following the article (which will
take you to the Alerts Page for ALFs, CCRCs, HUDs, General, or
Nursing Homes) and then click on the latest ALERT. Please remember
that last year, the FAHSA Board of Trustees made the decision that
your membership dues will entitle you to access only those Web pages
that relate to the membership type your dues cover. That is, if you
pay dues for nursing home beds only then will you be able to access
all general membership and nursing home-related Web pages, but you
will be unable to access housing, ALF or CCRC topics. Suggestions/Comments
FAHSA Quick Links
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Legislators Poised to Pass Budget Bill This Week
- Late Monday, House and Senate leaders announced a final
agreement to fix a $1.1 billion shortfall in the state's $71
billion plus budget for 2007- 08. Republican budget chiefs for
both chambers haggled briefly Monday afternoon over a handful
of minor unresolved differences, negating the need for
extended conference committee meetings. The full Legislature
is scheduled to vote on the budget bill tomorrow. Budget cuts
take effect on January 1, 2008.
The nursing home budget - our main concern - was reduced by
approximately 3%. Actual reimbursement cuts will be based on
the rates that would have occurred on January 1 and are very
likely to be significantly less. This is quite a victory
considering that the Agency for Health Care Administration's
initial proposal included a 10% reduction in the nursing home
budget.
We are grateful to FAHSA members who contacted or met with
state representatives and senators to ask for their help. For
those of you who participated in our grassroots advocacy
campaign, please send a note to the legislators with whom you
met to thank them for the judicious efforts that were made in
both chambers to avoid spending cuts for programs and services
that affect the most vulnerable Floridians, especially nursing
home residents.
Legislative Attention Turns to Property Taxes -
Earlier this week, Governor Charlie Crist added property tax
relief to the call of the special session. Shortly after,
House and Senate leaders agreed to extend the scheduled
adjournment from October 12 until October 22. Lawmakers will
be fine tuning or expanding the proposed Constitutional
Amendment that would have given homeowners the opportunity to
choose between "Save our Homes" and a "super homestead
exemption" worth up to $195,000. The proposal was ruled
unconstitutional by Chief Leon Circuit Court Judge Charles
Francis, who said the ballot summary language was misleading
to voters. In order for the amendment to appear on the January
ballot, the changes must be made and approved by the
Legislature by the end of October.
The extended session gives lawmakers the opportunity to
consider additional property tax options, from revising the
January 29 ballot initiative to significantly broadening it.
It also gives the Governor a chance to resurrect his proposal
to double Florida's $25,000 homestead exemption; allow
home-owners to transfer their Save Our Homes tax benefit if
they move; and provide a 25-percent homestead exemption
discount for first-time buyers. According to the governor's
office, the average taxpayer would save $214 per year with the
doubled homestead exemption, while a portable Save Our Homes
benefit would save $831. The first-time homeowner discount
would be worth $492. Local governments would lose an estimated
$5.6 billion in tax revenue statewide.
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| District and Membership News
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AWARD WINNER - Covenant
Hospice of Pensacola was recently named a Circle of Life
Award winner in recognition of its program that improves
the care of patients near the end of life or with life-
threatening conditions.
The awards are supported by the Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation in Princeton, N.J., and are sponsored by the
American Hospital Association, the American Association
of Homes and Services for the Aging, the American
Medical Association and the National Hospice and
Palliative Care Organization. Covenant Hospice is one of
eight organizations honored this year by the Circle of
Life Award Program.
FAHSA In the News - The Florida Association of
Homes and Services for the Aging was featured in a
Tuesday article in the Tampa Tribune. The article,
entitled "Independent But Vulnerable to Disaster",
discussed the difficulties faced by frail seniors
residing in independent living communities during
natural disasters. FAHSA provided information for the
article regarding the number of seniors living in such
communities in the Tampa Bay area. FAHSA President / CEO
Janegale Boyd clarified the difference between
independent living communities and 24-hour care
communities, such as ALFs and nursing homes, a
distinction that the article correctly stated is often
overlooked by the public. The article, which can be
accessed online at the Tribune
Web site, highlighted the importance of
comprehensive disaster planning for independent living
communities.
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| Education News |
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Plan to Attend - We're putting a fresh
face on FAHSA's January Dynamic Directions: Advanced
Nurse Workshop...just for you! With the help of our
dynamic planning team, we're putting together a program
that will meet the needs of not only Directors of
Nursing, but quality assurance nurses, staff development
nurses, charge nurses and CNA instructors. Nurses
practicing in nursing homes, and assisted living
settings will want to attend. Watch your mail for the
workshop brochure!
Upcoming Workshops:
- November 7 -- QIS Training,
Westminster Bradenton Shores, Bradenton, FL
- November 14 & 15 - FAHSA's
Maintenance Workshop, Holiday Inn, Orlando, FL
- November 27 -- MDS Coding and Care
Planning Webinar
- January 15 & 16, 2008 -- FAHSA's
Dynamic Directions Advanced Nurse Leadership
Workshop, Safety Harbor, FL
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| General News |
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Medicare Coverage Available for Annual
Mammogram Screening - October is National Breast
Cancer Awareness Month. The Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services is asking for your help to ensure that
all women with Medicare take full advantage of the
preventive services and screenings for which they may be
eligible. Make sure your female residents and clients
are aware that Medicare covers mammography screenings
every year. Medicare also provides coverage of clinical
breast exams every 12 or 24 months, depending on risk
level for the disease. (Clinical breast exams are
covered by Medicare as part of the pelvic screening
exam)
How Can You Help? "Pass the Word" - Early
detection of breast cancer results in earlier
potentially less invasive treatment and an improved
chance of survival. Please encourage Medicare
beneficiaries to take full advantage of these vitally
important benefits.
- For more information about Medicare's coverage of
screening mammography, and clinical breast exams,
including coverage, coding, billing, and
reimbursement, please visit the CMS
Medicare Learning Network Web page.
- The MLN Preventive Services Educational
Products Web Page provides descriptions and
ordering information for all provider specific
educational products related to preventive services.
- For literature to share with Medicare
beneficiaries, please visit the Medicare
Web site.
FLU SHOT REMINDER! - Flu Season is upon us!
Encourage residents and staff to get their flu shot.
It's their best defense against combating the flu this
season. (Medicare provides coverage of the flu vaccine
without any out-of-pocket costs to the Medicare patient.
No deductible or co- payment/coinsurance applies.) Get
Your Flu Shot. - Not the Flu. Remember - Influenza
vaccination is a covered Part B benefit. Note that
influenza vaccine is NOT a Part D covered drug. For
information about Medicare's coverage of flu vaccine and
its administration as well as related educational
resources for health care professions, please go to the
CMS
Web site.
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| Housing News |
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Jason Pincus Chosen for 2008 Class of
Leadership AAHSA - AAHSA has chosen FAHSA Housing
Chair Jason Pincus, Administrator, Stanley Axlrod UTD
Towers, as a Fellow of Leadership AAHSA 2008. Leadership
AAHSA has the mission of developing the next generation
of leaders who will continue to improve the aging
services field. Jason will have the opportunity to
foster relationships with other leaders across the
country and learn from the successes and challenges of
other organizations. Congratulations Jason!!
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| Home and Community-Based Services
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Home Health Grouper Software, Corrections, and
Table Updates for CMS-1541-FC - CMS has provided a
Home Health Case Mix Grouper Software Package for the
home health payment regulation effective January 1,
2008. At this time, the package includes written grouper
logic (e.g., pseudocode) and associated diagnosis code
tables for agencies developing their own PPS grouper
program. CMS will issue additional elements of the Home
Health Case Mix Grouper Software Package when grouper
software testing is complete. SEE
THE PACKAGE
Technical Corrections have also been made to
the Final Rule on "Home Health Prospective Payment
System Refinement & Rate Update for Calendar Year
2008. Since the publication of the HH PPS Final Rule
(CMS-1541-FC) dated August 29, 2007, technical errors
have been identified. For a draft of the detailed
description of the errors and corrections to those
errors, see the corrections to CMS-1541-FC. CMS will
address these technical errors and corrections in the
Federal Register, as a correction notice, in the near
future. Note: When the correction notice is published in
the Federal Register, the public should refer to the
correction notice as official notification and
publication of the errors and corrections. READ
THE CORRECTIONS
User Friendly CMS Tables related to Home
Health are online as well. In response to public
request, Tables 2A, 2B, 2C, 4, 5, 10A, and 10B from
CMS-1541-FC are now available in a more user- friendly
format on the CMS Web site. These tables are available
in separate sheets of a zipped Excel file. Please note
that the tables in the Excel file have incorporated the
"draft" corrections to errors which have been posted to
the CMS Web site and will be published in the Federal
Register in the near future. VIEW
THE TABLES
VIEW
DETAILS OF CMS-1541-FC
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| Legislative News
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Legislature Passes Bill to Reauthorize PIP --
Florida's Motor Vehicle No-Fault Law - Along with
the budget, the Legislature passed a bill reauthorizing
Personal Injury Protection (PIP) for auto insurance. The
contentious issue was added to the agenda at the last
minute by Gov. Crist.
The PIP bill will take effect January 1, 2008.
According to a press release from Florida's Chief
Financial Officer, Alex Sink, "Through the end of 2007,
you may be financially liable for automobile accidents
if you are the at-fault driver. Or, you may find
yourself in an accident with another driver who is
unable to pay your medical bills. It is essential that
consumers review their insurance policies and purchase
adequate coverage in the event of an accident."
"I encourage all Florida drivers to purchase
sufficient auto insurance coverage to ensure that you
and your family receive proper medical treatment and to
protect your assets in the event you are in an accident.
If you need assistance, please contact your insurance
agent or call our Consumer Helpline at 1- 800-342-2762."
You may want to pass this information on to your staff.
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| Nursing Home News
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New Resource Available on Culture Change -
Culture Change is a process that can be truly successful
only through the involvement of all staff, elders and
family members. Learning circles are an excellent way to
achieve that involvement. Read more about this and the
issues listed below in the latest FAHSA Nursing Home
Alert, NH 07-28 dated 10/11/07.
Other Nursing Homes News:
- CMS Document on Medicare Provider Enrollment
Application for Physicians and Non-Physician
Practitioners
- Potential NPI Problems Related to Clearinghouse
and Billing Service Practices
- CMS SNF LTC Open Door Forum Scheduled for
Thursday, Oct. 25
- Senators Probe Private-Equity, LTC Insurance
Industries
- OIG to Investigate Nursing Home Cost Reports
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| Preferred Business Associate
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FAHSA's Preferred Business Associates Program
(PBAs) -- A list of PBAs can be found by on the
FAHSA Web site www.fahsa.org
and selecting Preferred Business Associates from the
left side menu bar. FAHSA members can also use the on-
line directory to search for PBAs by specialty.
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| JobMart |
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FAHSA is pleased to provide an opportunity for
you to advertise your "position wanted" or "position
available" through the FAHSA Link newsletter and
on our Web Page.
FAHSA members may use the Job Mart services at no
charge. A nominal fee of $25 will be charged to
nonmembers.
Your Job Mart advertisement will be displayed on our
Web site for approximately three months. The FAHSA
Link is published weekly and distributed to our
membership which is comprised of nursing homes, CCRCs,
HUD housing, assisted living facilities, independent
living facilities and companies/firms.
To reserve advertisement space in our Job Mart
program, please complete the application
and fax it to FAHSA at (850) 671-3790 or E-mail Erin
Steele at esteele@fahsa.org
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